Bottle cap



June 13, 1967 1.. A. CORMIER 3,325,032

BOTTLE CAP Filed Nov. 8, 1965 FIG.

LOU/S A. CORM/ER INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,325,032 BOTTLE CAP Louis A. Cormier, 42 CentralSt., Southbridge, Mass. 01550 Filed Nov. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 506,755Claims. (Cl. 215-39) This invention relates to a bottle cap .and, moreparticularly, to a closure for a soft drink bottle or the like whichseals the bottle against the escape of liquid or carbon dioxide.

It is common practice in the soft drink and beer industries to providethe bottle with a cap having a tab extending outwardly from the cap topermit its removal without the use of a bottle opener. Such a cap isshown in the patent of Cormier No. 3,200,982 which issued on Aug. 17,196-5. Although the cap shown in that patent operates satisfactorily,some strength is required to remove the cap with one hand; this, onoccasion, has made it diflicult for women or children to open the caps.These and other difiiculties experienced with the prior art devices havebeen obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide abottle cap which may be removed easily without the use of the auxiliarytools.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a bottle cap havingits own integral bottle opener and which opens the cap in such a waythat gas is allowed to escape first and then the mechanical connectionto the lip of the bottle is released.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a bottle capwhich has a means for easily removing it from the bottle without the useof a special tool, yet which cannot be opened accidentally.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of aself-opening bottle cap which operates in two stages, one stage ofopening serving to release carbon dioxide from the bottle withoutremoving the cap from the bottle and the second stage to remove the capfrom the bottle easily without injury to the user.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a two-stageremovable cap in which the number of notches in the flange of the cap isreduced to a minimum to substantially remove the possibility of leakage.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of partsset forth in the specification and covered by the claims appendedhereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood byreference to one of its structural forms, as illustrated by theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bottle cap embodying the principlesof the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the invention,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the invention showing a first stage ofopening, and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the invention showing a second stage ofopening.

Referring first to FIG. 1, wherein are best shown the general featuresof the invention, it can be seen that the bottle cap, indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 10, is shown in use with a bottle 11.The bottle is the conventional type used with soft drinks and beer; ithas a narrow upper lip and an annular bead 12 extending around thebottle some distance below the lip and is conventionally made of glass.From the outer periphery of a circular top 13 extends a depending skirtor flange 14. The top and flange are formed from a single piece of sheetmetal and the skirt is crimped about the lip of the bottle providingalternate raised portions 15 and depressed "Ice portions 16. On theinside of the undersurface of the top is located a cork seal to assistin retaining the gas pressure in the bottle.

Extending across the top 13 is a fold or score line 18 whichgeometrically might be considered a chord of the circle defining theperiphery of the top 15 of the cap. The score line may take the form ofa stamped depression or it may be a scratch in the metal forming thetop. In any case, it constitutes a line along which the metal may bendmore easily than along other lines. The line lies inwardly of the inneredge of the lip of the bottle and, in other words, it is chordal to theinner circumference of the lip of the bottle. Extending upwardly intothe flange is a notch 17 which extends down to the lower edge of theflange. The flange adjacent this cut does not terminate along the sameconventional line as the rest of the skirt. On the contrary, some of themetal extends downwardly .and outwardly of the bottle to form a tab 22.The upper part of the tab merges with the flange 14 and, therefore,carries the usual crimping similar to the rest of the flange. Thecircular top 13 of the cap is provided with another score line 23 whichstarts at the portion of the periphery of the top above the notch 17 andextends across the cap in the general vicinity of the center. In thepreferred embodiment, .as shown in the drawings, it is located slightlytoward the score line 18 from the center of the cap. At the end of thescore line 23 is located a notch 24 similar to the notch 17. In thepreferred embodiment, each of the notches 17 and 24 extends entirelythrough the metal in the lower part of the flange 14 but, as it proceedsup the skirt, does not extend entirely through the metal but graduallybecomes a mere scratch merging into the score line 18 or 23.

The operation of the invention will now be readily understood, in viewof the above description. The cap is placed on the bottle in the usualmanner by use of a bottling machine. The cork seal is pressed tightlyagainst the upper lip of the bottle to prevent leakage of carbonation orof liquid. Crimping takes place in such a manner that the depressedportions 16 extend under the head of the lip and lock the cap in place.At the same time, with the usual type of criming, it is practicallyimpossible to remove the cap without the assistance of a tool. When thebottle cap of the present invention is located on a bottle,

" the tab 22 does not extend outwardly from the bottle any considerabledistance and, therefore, does not protrude in such a manner as topresent any problem; for instance, the bottle with the cap and tab inplace can be handled in the usual bottle-labelling machinery with outdifficulty. It can be inserted in bottle cases and,

1 eventually, it can be placed in a soft drink dispensing machinewithout any danger of the tab catching on the machinery or edges andwithout any danger of premature removal of the cap. In the present case,the tab can be positioned well inside of the machine so that it is notaccessible to a person who wishes illegally to remove the cap withoutplacing a coin in the machine.

When it is desirable to remove the cap to have access to the contents ofthe bottle, it is only necessary to grasp the bottle in the right handand place the thumb of the right hand under the tab. When the tab 22 ispressed upwardly, because of the mechanical advantage obtained due tothe length of the tab, a considerable separating stress is providedalong the notch 17. In accordance with the well-known principle ofconcentration of stress at re-entrant angles, an extreme tearing stressis felt at the root of the notch 17. This stress at the root of the cutis such that, as the tab 22 is pulled upwardly and outwardly from thebottle, a tear immediately starts at the root of the cut and movesquickly up the cut. Further movement of the tab causes a bending of thetop 13 of the cap along the line 18. The cap is then in the conditionshown in FIG. 3. There is no need (according to the present invention)to provide a notch at the other end of the line 18 since the properopening required for the bending of the cap takes place at the notch 17.At that time, the seal is released from the top of the cap a suflicientamount to permit the release of gas pressure in the bottle. The capstays in place on the bottle, however, because the skirt is wrappedaround the lip 12 and holds the cap mechanically in place. Furthermovement of the cap causes stress to be brought to bear on the notch 24and it opens in the manner shown in FIG. 4, but the top 13 of the capbends along the line 23 at this stage of the proceedings. At that time,a suflicient amount of the skirt has been released from the lip of thebottle 11 to permit the cap to come off. The bottle cap can then beremoved from the bottle and the contents of the bottle can be drunkdirectly from the bottle or the user may pour the liquid into a separatecontainer for drinking.

By using the present invention, it is possible to provide a self-openingbottle cap made from a single piece of metal (with the exclusion of thecork seal, of course) without the use of a great deal of extra sheetmetal or extra expense. The cap can be applied to a bottle by aconventional bottle-capping machine without extensive modification ofthe machine. No auxiliary tool is necessary for the removal of the capand the bottle cap is particularly useful at picnics or in the woodswhere a bottle opener is not readily available. It avoids the use insuch circumstances of inadequate substitutes which are liable to breakthe bottle or hurt the user. At the same time, the removal of the capdoes not involve danger of the cap being torn forcefully away from thebottle against the sealing or, possibly, to strike a bystander. At thesame time, after the gas pressure has been released, the cap can beoperated slightly further in the same direction to remove it from thebottle without any problem to the user.

The present invention uses a twisting action to remove the cap. In otherwords, the cap during the first stage of the motion opens at the notch17 in what might be considered a clockwise movement of the portion ofthe cap bearing the tab 22. Then, when the notch 24 begins to operate inthe second stage of opening of the cap, the portion bearing'the tab 22twists in a counterclockwise direction, as the cap is observed whenlooking toward the tab. The effect of this type of twisting action is toefiectively unscrew the cap from the bottle rather than cause it to movedirectly upwardly. This lessens the danger of the cap being projectedthrough the air by the person opening it. It does away with thepossibility of the gas being released suddenly in an upward directionwith possible consequential danger to a bystander. It is possible todesign a cap for a bottle having a particular pressure of carbon dioxidein the interior by making the notches 17 and 24 deeper or more shallow.Any kind of seal may be used between the cap and the lip, i.e., eitherthe conventional cork seal, a rubber, or artificial elastomer material.Furthermore, the cap may be released by one hand operation.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of the invention without departing from the material spiritthereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to theexact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include allsuch as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new anddesired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A bottle cap, comprising (a) a crown member having a flat circularbody and and annular flange extending away from the body along theperiphery thereof, the flange being crimped around the lip of a bottle,

(b) a tab member extending laterally of the crown member generally inthe plane of the bottom edge of the flange integral with a limitedportion of the flange,

(c) a first weakening means consisting of a notch associated with theflange in the vicinity of the tab to facilitate the upward bending ofthe flange and crown in the vicinity of the tab for release of gaspressure from the bottle, and

(d) a second weakening means consisting of a notch associated with theflange at a position generally diametrically opposite the firstweakening means to facilitate removal of the cap from the bottle, thefirst and second weakening means being the only such means provided sothat pressing upwardly on the tab causes a first bending about a firstscore line between the tab member and a second line extending from thefirst and second weakening means, followed by a second bending about thesaid second line.

2. A bottle cap as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and secondlines intersect in the vicinity of the first weakening means and extendat an acute angle to one another.

3. A bottle cap as recited in claim 2, wherein the first line isarranged as a short chord of the periphery of the cap closely adjacentto the tab.

4. A bottle cap as recited in claim 3, wherein the sec- 0nd line extendsacross the cap adjacent the center thereof.

5. A bottle cap as recited in claim 1, wherein each notch consists of acut which, at the lower edge of the flange, extends entirely through theflange, but which is reduced in depth as it progresses up the flange.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,715,882 6/1929 Wygonik 215-462,156,258 5/1939 Atwood 215-46 X 3,200,982 8/1965 Cormier 215- 16 JOSEPHR. LECLAIR, Primaly Examiner.

D. F. NORTON, Assistant Examiner.

1. A BOTTLE CAP, COMPRISING (A) A CROWN MEMBER HAVING A FLAT CIRCULARBODY AND AND ANNULAR FLANGE EXTENDING AWAY FROM THE BODY ALONG THEPERIPHERY THEREOF, THE FLANGE BEING CRIMPED AROUND THE LIP OF A BOTTLE,(B) A TAP MEMBER EXTENDING LATERALLY OF THE CROWN MEMBER GENERALLY INTHE PLANE OF THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE FLANGE INTEGRAL WITH A LIMITEDPORTION OF THE FLANGE, (C) A FIRST WEAKENING MEANS CONSISTING OF A NOTCHASSOCIATED WITH THE FLANGE IN THE VINCINITY OF THE TAB TO FACILITATE THEUPWARD BENDING OF THE FLANGES AND CROWN IN THE VICINITY OF THE TAB FORRELEASE OF GAS PRESSURE FROM THE BOTTLE, AND (D) A SECOND WEAKENINGMEANS CONSISTING OF A NOTCH ASSOCIATED WITH THE FLANGE AT A POSITIONGENERALLY DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE THE FIRST WEAKENING MEANS TO FACILITATEREMOVAL OF THE CAP FROM THE BOTTLE, THE FIRST AND SECOND WEAKENING MEANSBEING THE ONLY SUCH MEANS PROVIDED SO THAT PRESSING UPWARDLY ON THE TABCAUSES A FIRST BENDING ABOUT A FIRST SCORE LINE BETWEEN THE TAB MEMBERAND A SECOND LINE EXTENDING FROM THE FIRST AND SECOND WEAKENING MEANS,FOLLOWED BY A SECOND BENDING ABOUT THE SAID SECOND LINE.